Project Hubs / Find out how Forum for the Future is working towards a sustainable future. If you’re interested in creating a digital community page for your project, please contact us at futurescentre@forumforthefuture.org

How will businesses adapt to a world that's rethinking waste and value for circularity?

If you keep resources in the economy, rather than letting them slip off the edge of a supposedly flat world into landfill and other waste streams, then they should bring value back into circulation. Right?

At our next Virtual Salon on 28 February, we’ll be discussing with network members ‘How your business can harness the potential of the circular economy’ (if you’re interested in joining, you can find out more here). We’re also going to be hosting ‘circular drinks’ in the UK to provide a convivial space for exploring the opportunities – watch out for the invitation.

Meanwhile, researchers, app builders and retailers are working to bend linear supply chains into planetary shape. There’s a certain magic in the mix. An Indian chemical plant is capturing carbon to make soda ash. Engineers in Utah are using food waste to make LEDs. In Japan, they’re fermenting discarded garment fabrics to make … jet fuel.

It’s time to add a touch of alchemy to your business model. Where will you find value?

What you count makes all the difference. In Thailand, a private university is thinking beyond baht, accepting unsold rice as tuition fees. What other lessons might we learn when we take a fresh look at waste?

Across the world, citizens are rethinking what they count as value, too. As individuals move away from a consumer mindset towards one led by social purpose, how will businesses, policy-makers and other institutions need to adapt?